In November 2017, faculty and graduate students will be presenting their research and current projects at the National Communication Association convention in Dallas, TX.

Dr. Sarah Blithe is presenting a co-authored project: “Thinking Through the Legacy of Sex Work: Life Stories of Former Legal Prostitutes” for the Ethnography division with graduate student, Breanna Calvin. Calvin is also presenting: “My Relevance, My Voice: Autoethnography of a Legal Sex Worker” for the Feminist and Women’s Studies division and participating in an “Ask and Activist” discussion session for the Activism and Social Justice Division.

Dr. Amy Pason will also be participating in the “Ask and Activist” discussion session forthe Activism and Social Justice Division by presenting on her recent advocacy in lobbying for women’s health at the Nevada Legislature as well as speaking with local political groups about having civil political discussions and ethical advocacy.

Dr. Jenna Hanchey will be presenting 3 papers based on her participatory ethnographic research. She will be presenting: “The Process of Staging a Coup: Engaging with Participatory Extremities.” Part of the panel “The Emerging Legacy and Relevance of Participatory Critical Rhetoric.” Rhetorical and Communication Theory Division.

“On Transcription and Time-Travel: Reflecting as the Researcher-who-Writes on the Past Misdeeds of the Researcher-who-Participates.” Part of the panel “Transparency, Reflexivity, and Identity: Examining the Researcher in Ethnographic Communication Research.” Ethnography Division.

“All of us Phantasmic Saviors.” Critical and Cultural Studies Division.

Dr. Robert Gutierrez-Perez is participating in a variety of sessions. He will be participating in the following:

Assistant Professor, Dr. Jenna Hanchey, will receive the 2017 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Critical and Cultural Studies division of the National Communication Association and the annual convention this November in Dallas. Hanchey’s dissertation work looked that international aid and nonprofit organizations working in Africa. Dr. Hanchey recently earned her PhD from the University of Texas, Austin and worked with adviser, Dr. Dana Cloud.

Assistant Professor, Robert Gutierrez-Perez has recently published articles centering on issues of spiritual activism, actual spirits, and the storytelling surrounding them.

“Bailando Con Las Sombras: Spiritual Activism and Soul Healing in the War Years” is co-authored with Dr. Luis Manuel Andrade and is published in Qualitative Inquiry. By utilizing performative writing and personal narrative, this poetic essay dives into the personal and collective trauma of the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. As part of a special issue on Pulse, the co-authors (re)perform the dialogue and queer of color worldmaking that emerged from their frantic text messages to each other in the aftermath of this horrific moment in the Latinx and/or LGBTQ community. We argue that spiritual activism in the form of soul healing and radical interconnectedness is one path of many to consider for those who continue to question if their bodies matter in this political moment in culture and society.

“Sarah Winchester & the Winchester Mystery House, or Confronting the Ghosts of Genocide & White Guilt” is published in CHEERS FROM THE WASTELAND. This journal is a place-based journal that features creative work “by people with ties (loose, iron strong, and everything in-between!) to San Jose, California. Through words, images, and sounds, this journal aims to add contours to the wasteland, and surface the undeniable beauty–both underlying and blatant–that sets our city apart.” This piece utilizes monster theory to interrogate and analyze the myths and legends surrounding of Sarah Winchester and the Winchester Mystery House.

Dr. Robert Gutierrez-Perez has been working on a few projects related to the writings of Gloria Anzaldua, and recently published a book review on Light in the Dark/Luz en lo Oscuro: Rewriting Identity, Spirituality, Reality by Gloria E. Anzaldúa and edited by AnaLouise Keating in the journal Women’s Studies in Communication.